Apparatus for routing hinge seats in doors and jambs having an integral stop



w. a. ZERN 2,894,333 APPARATUS FOR ROUTING HINGE SEATS IN DOORS AND 7 July 14, 1959 JAMBS HAVING AN INTEGRAL STOP Filed May 14, 1957 V 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 2,894,333 OORS AND A July 14, 1959 w. B. ZERN APPARATUS FOR ROUTING HINGE SEATS IN D JAMES HAVING AN INTEGRAL STOP 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 14, 1957 United States Patent APPARATUS FORROUTIN G HINGE SEATS IN DOORS AND JAMBS HAVING AN INTE- GRAL STOP Warren B. Zorn, near Pottstown, Pa. Application May 14, 1957, Serial No. 659,124

5 Claims. (Cl. 33-197) This invention relates to an improvement in the woodworking apparatus disclosed in my Patent No. 2,801,655 which issued Aug. 6, 1957 upon copending application Serial No. 455,890 filed September 14, 1954, and my Patent No. 2,843,940 which issued July 22, l958, upon copending application Serial No. 614, 871 filed October 9, 1956, and has for an object the provision of an improved apparatus for routing hinge seats in a door and jamb wherein the jamb is of the exterior type having an integral stop.

In doors of the interior type, the customary practice is to use flat jambs for the door frames and to nail or otherwise secure the door stops to the jambs in the required position as determined when the door has been hung on its hinges. With this typeof installation, the width of the hinge seat or recess is controlled by a template as disclosed in my aforesaid copending application, Serial No. 455,890 and the distance between the rear of the hinge seat and the face of the door which is adjacent the door stop will vary depending upon variations in the width of the doors. As pointed out in my aforesaid application, Serial No. 455,890, under present manufacturing conditions doors no longer run true to size but vary in thickness from A to A" from end to end, particularly in regard to veneer doors. In my other aforesaid application, Serial No. 614,871, provision was made for assuring that the hinge seats in the doors were accurately located regardless of variations in thickness of the doors. Since that time it has been found that on jambs with integral stops the dimension between the edge of the jamb and the stop does not run true on the same jamb and from jarnb to jamb even though the stop is milled or otherwise cut from the jamb material rather than being a separate member attached to the jamb as is the case with interior doors. Thus, even though the hinge seats in the edge of thedoor were properly positioned in accordance with the teachings in my aforesaid application, Serial No. 614,871, difficulties, such as improper fitting and binding, were encountered in assembling such doors with integral stop jambs when the integral stops varied in the foregoing manner.

As the position of the door stop on an exterior type door frame is fixed with respect to the edge of the jamb, it is an object of the present invention to rout the hinge seats in the jamb in such manner that the distance between the rear of the hinge seat and the adjacent edge of the 'door stop is controlled.

In accordance with the invention there is provided woodworking apparatus for guiding the movement of the routing tool during the routing of hinge seats in a jamb having an integralstop. Such apparatus includes a template carrier having a template adapted to overlie the surface of the jamb having the integral step. A locating surface is disposed beneath the template carrier in predetermined relation with respect to the template and against which an edge :of' theintegral stop is adapted to the. positioned. Movable means is provided for clamping "the integral stop against thewlocating surface and there is 2,894,333 Patented July 14, 1959 ice structure beneath the template carrier for receiving the hinge receiving edge of the jamb to prevent chipping thereof during the routing operation without preventing movement of the integral stop against the locating sur face. The template is provided with an opening therein over the hinge receiving surface of the jamb and is adapted to cooperate with the locating surface for controlling the hinge seat cut by the routing tool whereby a predetermined dimension is maintained between the edge of the integral stop and the rear of the hinge seat to provide uniform clearance between the door and stop when in assembled relation regardless of non-uniform spacing between the integral stop and. the edge of the jamb. i

For a more detailed disclosure of the invention and for further objects and advantages thereof, reference is to be had to the following description taken in conjungtion with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of an embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a fractional view showing in section an e);- terior door installation.

The present invention is applicable to routing hinge seats in a jarnb and a door, whether the door he a lefthand door or a right-hand door. Left-hand and right hand doors are terms which refer to the swing of the door as explained in my aforesaid copending application, Serial No. 455,890. In general, a plurality of template assemblies wili be employed with'respect ,to routing or cutting hinge seats in a door 10 and a jamb 11 angularly related to each other so that their hinge receiving surfaces will be substantially in a common plane. However, for purposes of explanationand since all of the template assemblies are of the same construction, only one assembly 12, Figs. 1 and 2, will be described here'- in. It is to be understood, of course, that two or three assemblies may be concurrently used as disclosed in rny aforesaid copending application, Serial No. 455,890, where three template assemblies have been illustrated at spaced locations along a jig frame assembly, such locations being predeterminedior the proper position of t h'e hinge seats to be routed in the edge of the door and jamb.

As pointed out above, the present invention is particularly directed to the routing of hinge seats in jgirnbs of the type having an integral door stop. As may be seen in Fig. 3, the jamb 11 'has an integral stop 11g and the spacing between the edge of the jarnb and the stop 1 1 a is fixed. This spacing is identified in Fig. 3 by the dimension A. While the stop 11a is usually niilled in the jamb, it has been found that the dimension A varies from en to end of one jamb and also varies from jarnb to jarnb even when they are cut on the same milling setup. In the past the procedure for cutting hinge seats in a'jarn-b, either with or without an integral stop, has been i old the dimension for the width of the hinge seatconstant regardless of variation in the dimension A of the jamb. With that procedure it will be seen that variations in dimension A of the jamb would automatically cause variations in the dimension B, Fig. 3, which is the dimension corresponding to the width of the uncut material between the rear of the hinge seat and the adjacent edge of the integral stop 11a. As long as the dimension a; the jamb is greater than the thickness of the door 10 to be installed in the jamb, the door would not bindon the integral stop 11a but there would be an improper fit leaving an uncontrollable spacing between the door and theadjacent edge of the integral stop.

In my prior application Serial No. 614,871, it was disclosed 'how binding between the door 10 and the stop 11a could be avoided when the jambs were milled ac? curately and uniformly to predetermined size. Under such circumstances binding could be prevented by holding the dimension X constant, i.e., the dimension between the rear of the door hinge seat and the face of the door adjacent the stop during a routing operation. In this manner the overall width of the hinge seat could vary with variations in thickness of the door 10. However, such variations did not impair the fit of the door with respect to the stop 11a.

In accordance with the present invention, provision is made so that there is avoided any binding between the door and the stop 11a regardless of whether there are any variations in the thickness of the door or whether there are any variations in the spacing of the stop from the edge of the jamb. Thus, even though the integral stops in the jambs have been milled improperly, nevertheless, the' doors and jambs when their hinge seats are routed in accordance with this invention will assemble without binding and provide uniform clearance between the door and stop. This is assured by reason of the fact that dimension B is always maintained at a greater value than dimension X.

Referring to Fig. l, the template assembly 12 is provided with a frame or carrier 15 adapted to extend over the hinge receiving edge of the jamb 11 as wellas the door 10. In the normal routing position the carrier 15 will lie in a substantially horizontal plane parallel to the plane of the jamb whereas the normal plane of the door will be substantially perpendicular to this plane and thus lie in a substantially vertical plane as illustrated in Fig. 1. Each of the template carriers 15 includes a downwardly extending section 16 adapted to space the jamb 11 and the door 10 from each other during the routing operation. The template assembly 12 is adapted to be clamped to the jamb'll by a suitable clamping arrangement such as clamping member 34. Depending from the bottom of the template carrier 15 and projecting outwardly from downwardly extendingsection 16 is a jamb bracket having an opening 31 extending therethrough in a di- 'agonal direction with respect to the carrier 15. A pivotal supporting member 32 is provided with an internally threaded opening through which a clamping member 34 is screwed. The clamping member 34 is adapted to engage the underside of jamb 11 to force it upwardly so that the upper surface of the jamb 11 will engage the lower surface of frame 15 as in Fig. 1, and also to move the forward edge of the integral stop 11a against the locating surfaces, 38, 38, Figs. -1 and 2. The locating surfaces 38 are disposed in a notch of frame 15 which has been cut away and permits the integral stop 11a to project above the bottom of frame 15 and at the same time permits the hinge seat edge of the jamb to project beneath the locating surface 38 and be received between the bottom of frame 15 and the jamb bracket 30. Spacers 39 are positioned between the vertical shoulder on frame 15 and the locating surfaces 38 to space the edge of jamb 11 from the downwardly extending section 16. The spacers 39 may be replaced by spacers of different thickness by removing the screws 39a, Fig. 2, so as to cooperate with the template 41 as hereinafter described to maintain a predetermined dimension B on the jambs 11.

The pivotal support 32 is spring-biased as by a spring member 33, one end of which engages the pivotal support 32 and the other end of which engages a pin 29 extending from member 30. The novel features of the jamb clamp per se are claimed in my aforesaid application Serial No, 455,890. The jamb clamp 34 is the preferred form of clampas it eliminates the necessity of making any separate adjustments to correct for difierences in jamb widths.

When the jamb 11 is inserted in the space below frame 15 and above bracket member 30, the point 34a in clamp 34 first will engage the under-surface of jamb 11, followed by cam surface 36 to move the upper surface; of

the jamb 11 againstthe bottom of template frame. 15.

The point 34a penetrates the jamb surface and acts as a pilot or guide for cam surface 36 preventing the latter from rolling the jamb lengthwise of the jig when the knob of clamp 34 is turned to tighten the clamp on the jamb. Due to the oblique angle formed between the plane of template frame 15 and the axis of clamping member 34, the jamb 11 is diagonally m'oved upward and over until it engages the bottom of template frame 15. The integral stop 11a is against the locating sur faces 38, 38. The amount of horizontal movement will be generally relatively small, such for example, in the order of A to A3", since the jamb 11 will ordinarily be inserted into its proper position by the operator before he tightens the clamping member 34. The action of the clamping member 34 is such that after engagement of pin 34a and cam surface 36 with the under-side of jamb 11, there will be a slight clockwise rotation of clamp 34 about its pivotal support 32 as viewed in Fig. 1 accompanied by engagement of the second cam surface 37 with the under-side of jamb 11. As a result of the foregoing action, the hinge receiving face of the jamb will be forced tightly against the bottom of frame 15 with the forward edge of the integral stop 11a against the locating surfaces 38, 38.

When a change is made in the thickness of the'jamb stock in the order of A" or more, it ispreferablej to make a corresponding change in the position of jamb bracket 30 relative to the template frame To' accomplish this, the jamb bracket 30' is provided with a pair of slots 30b through which extend lock screws 30a, the latter locking the jamb bracket to member 16 at the selected elevation. i

In order to clamp the template assembly 12 to the door 10 there is provided a second downwardly extending section 17 preferably provided with. a threaded opening through which extends the threaded clamping member 18. The threaded member 18 is adapted to be rotated by means of a knob'19. The inner end of member 18"is provided with a plate or pad 20 which is adapted to move To adapt the template assembly 12 for use in' either square-edge doors or bevel-edge doors, the clamping surfaces of members 22 and 20 are parallel to each other and are disposed at an angle slightly greater than a right angle with respect to the upper surface of the tem era frame 15. The aforementioned angle is approximately 935, the 35 corresponding to the taper on the finished hinge seats from the open end'of the hinge seat to the rear. The taper is provided to prevent the door from becoming hinge bound). all as more fully describedin my aforesaid patent application Serial No. 455,890. The under surface of frame 15 at each end is provided with adjacent locating surfaces 15a and 15b to engage the hinge receiving edge of the, door. The surface 15a is at right angles to locating surface 22 and cooperates with it to locate a square-edge door.. The surface 15b locates a bevel-edge door in similar manner as more fully described in Schwarzer Patent No. 2,605,790, assigned to me. a

The template frame 15 is provided with ya .topplatc 40 having an opening therein to receive the template 41. The template 41 may have-separate openings corresponding to the hinge seats in the door and the jamb or it may preferably be of the type disclosed in my aforesaid applications having a cut-out including two side openings interconnected by another opening to guide a routing tool 44, Fig. l, duringthe routing of the hinge. seats. The hinge seat opening 41a forms one of the side openings of the cut-out and the opening. 41b forms. the. other side assasss opening of the cut-out. The openings 41a and 41b are interconnected by a narrow passage or area between the openings which corresponds to the spacing of the door and the jamb 11, Fig. 1. The opening 41a corresponds to the hinge seat to be routed in the hinge reoeiving surface of jamb 11 and cooperates with the locating surface 38, 38 to control the dimension B of un cut material between the rear of the jamb hinge seat and the adjacent edg e of the integral stop during a routing operation. The openin 41b has a somewhat greater width than opening 41a the purpose of which was de scribed in my aforesaid copending application Serial No. 614,871. As pointed out in that application in order to maintain uniform the dimension between the face of the door adapted to be installed adjacent the stop 11a and therea'r of the hinge seat in the door, dimension X, Fig. 3, the movable clamping member 20, Fig. l, is provideti with a gauge member 50 which is adapted to extend beneath the template 41 but above the hinge receiving edge of the door for engaging the collar 51 surrounding the cutter 52 of the router 44. The gauge member 50 is adjustably mounted on member 20 as by screws 53 and-shim washers 54. With this arrangement, it is possible to vary the amount of material remaining between the hinge seat and the edge of the door after the routing operation, i.e. to vary the dimension X, Fig. 3.

As pointed out above, however, the dimension X must likewise be less than dimension B in order to avoid binding between the jamb and the integral stop 11a when the dobr is hung on hinges 13. In general, the clearance between the door and the stop should be about and time B should be greater than X by a corresponding amount. The length of the hinge seat in the door 10 is controlled by the opening 41b in the template 41 while theitvidth of the hinge seat is controlled by means of the gauge or guide member 50 carried by the movable clamping member 20 beneath the template 41. The gauge member 50 limits the transverse movement of the cutting tool in one direction only. The length of the hinge seat in the jainb 11 is controlled by the opening 41a in the templ-ate l-l while the width of the seat depends on the relative positions of opening 41a and locating surfaces 33, 38 and dimension A of the jamb.

As the door and jamb are in spaced relation during the routing operation, supporting members of relatively soft material are provided to engage the corresponding surfaces of the jamb and door adjacent which the hinge seats are to be routed. The supporting member for engagingthe outer edge of the jamb comprises a block 56, preferably "of wood, which engages the edge of the jamb adjacent the hinge seat area and prevents this edge from being chipped or splintered during a routing operation. Since the block 56 is constructed from wood or other relatively soft material, it does not damage the cutter blade 52 of the router 44. The support for engaging the face of the door adjacent the hinge seat area to prevent the door from being chipped or splintered during a routing operation comprises a pair of plates 22 which are secured to the depending section 16 of the assembly by screws 57. The plates 22 preferably are formed of soft aluminum and perform several functions. The first function they perform is their use as the door locating surface described above. They also function as the support for the edge of the door adjacent the hinge receiving area to prevent chipping during the routing operation. As the members 22 are of a relatively soft material, such as soft aluminum, the cutter blade 52 of the router 44 will not be damaged when the cutter strikes the plates 22 during a routing operation. The plates 22 further function as a support for the block 56 as now to be described.

While the plates 22 are held in stationary position by the screws 57, the block 56 is adapted to be resiliently biased against the edge of jamb 11. As the dimension A, Fig. 3, of the jamb may vary, the position of the forward edge of jamb 11 likewise will vary beneath the template frame 15. For Chat reason the block 56 is mounted on a pair of screws 70 which in turn are carried by brackets 71, Figs. 1 and 2. One end of each bracket '71 is adapted to be secured to a corresponding one of the plates 22 as by screws 69 and the other end of the brackets Ill is provided with an opening through which the screws '70 extend. The heads of the screws 70 are sufficiently large so as not to pass through the openings in the brackets '71 and the opposite ends of the screws 70 are adapted to be threaded into the block 56. The block 56 is normally maintained in an extended position by means of the coil springs 72 which'surround each of the screws 70 and are disposed between the block 56 and the adjacent surface of brackets 71, as shown in Figs. l and 2. When the jamb 11 is inserted beneaththe template frame 15 and the integral stop 11a is clamped tightly against the locating surfaces 38, the forward edge of jamb 11 will engage the block 56 and compress the springs 72 to move the block 56 from the extended position in Fig. 2 to the compressed or clamped position, as shown in Fig. l.

The plates 22 provide a support for the spring-biased block 56 but do not interfere with the movement of the screws 70 when the leading edge of the jamb 11 is received against the block 56 as shown in Fig. 1. By using a pair of spaced supporting plates, such as members 22, there is avoided a buildup of sawdust or shavings between them and the block 56 as a result of the routing operations and thus there is avoided any clogging of the jig which would prevent the freedom of movement of the spring-biased block 56 during its normal operation.

For different sizes of doors it is frequently necessary to change from one size of hinge to another. For example, while 3 /2 hinges are used on doors in one range of sizes it is frequently necessary to employ larger hinges such as 4" hinges on doors in a larger size range. To change the template assembly for routing different sizes of hinge seats it is onlynecessary to insert a different template at with the appropriate size openings and to replace the support unit which includes the spring-biased block 56 and the plates 22. The latter is accomplished by removing the screws 57 which permits the plates 22 to be removed along with the block 56 and the supporting members 70 and 71. Another support unit including a set of plates 22 with a spring-biased block 56 is then assembled by replacing the screws 57 as indicated in the drawing. Thus the same supporting plates 22 and supporting block 56 may be used over and over again for routing operations involving the same size of hinge seats, but when a change in size is made then a corresponding change is made in both the template 41 and in the plates 22 and spring-biased block 56. This will be apparent as it will be clear "that if a block 56 were used to provide support adjacent a 4" hinge recess it would not provide the required support at the ends of the recess for the subsequent routing of a 3 /2" recess. The reason for this is the fact that part of the block 56 is cut away to the depth and length of the seat during a routing operation. A similar cut is made by the router in the upper edges of the pair of plates 22. However, since the plates 22 are spaced they are only cut adjacent the ends of the hinge seat which is the area where the support is required.

As previously mentioned, only one template assembly 12 has been illustrated. However, a series may be employed as described in my aforesaid copending applications. The template assemblies are provided with an opening 16a in member 16 in order that they may be mounted on a frame adapted to extend lengthwise of the jarnb and door. The assemblies may be clamped to the frame by any suitable means, such for example, as thumb screws adapted to extend through threaded openings 16b in member 16. Such frame enables the operator to maintain the various template assemblies in predetermined spaced relation during assembly and disassembly of the templates on succeeding doors and jambs.

While there has been described a preferred embodiment '7 of the invention, it will be understood that further modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. Woodworking apparatus for guiding the movement of a routing tool during the routing of hinge seats in a jamb having an integral stop comprising a template carrier including a template adapted to overlie the surface of the jamb having the integral stop, a locating surface disposed beneath said template carrier in predetermined relation with respect to said template and against which an edge of the integral stop is adapted to be positioned, means for clamping the integral stop against said locating surface, and structure beneath said template carrier for receiving the hinge receiving edge of the jamb without preventing movement of the integral stop aganist said loeating surface, said template having an opening therein over the hinge receiving surface of the jamb and adapted to cooperate with said locating surface for controlling the width of the hinge seat cut by the routing tool whereby a predetermined dimension is maintained between the edge of the integral stop and the rear of the hinge seat to provide uniform clearance between the door and step when in assembled relation regardless of nonuniform spacing between the integral stop and the edge of the jamb, said structure for receiving the edge of the jamb including a supporting member and means for biasing said supporting member against the edge of the jamb along the hinge seat so as to prevent breaking the edges of the jamb around the hinge seat during a routing operation, said supporting member being constructed from a relatively soft material as compared to the cutter of the router so as to prevent damage to the cutter.

2. Woodworking apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said locating surface and the opening in said template are adjustable relative to each other whereby the predetermined dimension between the rear of the hinge seat and the edge of the integral stop may be adjusted in accordance with a selected clearance between the door and the stop when in assembled relation.

3. Woodworking apparatus for guiding the movement of a routing tool during the routing of hinge seats in a door and a jamb having an integral stop comprising a template carrier including a template adapted to overlie the surface of the jamb having the integral stop and the hinge receiving edge of the door, a locating surface disposed beneath said template carrier in predetermined relation with respect to said template and against which the edge of the integral stop is adapted to be positioned, means for clamping the integral stop against said locating surface, structure beneath said template carrier for receiving the hinge receiving edge of the jamb without preventing movement of the integral stop against said locating surface, another locating surface disposed beneath said template carrier in predetermined relation with respect to said template and against which the facerof the door is adapted to be positioned, means for clamping the door against said last-named locating surface, and gauge means carried by said movable means for controlling the width of the hinge seat in the door with reference to the other face of the door adapted to be installed adjacent theintegral stop, said template having an opening therein over the hinge receiving surface of the jamb and adapted to cooperate with said first-named locating surface forv controlling the width of the hinge, seat cut by the routing tool, said locating surface for the jamb and said gauge for the door being so related in said woodworking apparatusas to maintain a uniform width of uncut'material between the rear of the jamb'of the hinge seat and the integral stop and a uniform width of uncut material of lesser dimension between the rear of the door hinge seat and the edge of the door during the hinge seat routing operation so as to prevent binding when the door is inserted in the jamb regardless of variations in the thickness of the door and in variations of the spacing in the stop from the edge of the jamb. r

4. Woodworking apparatus for guiding the movement of a routing tool during the routing of hingepseats in a door and a jamb comprising a template carrier including a template adapted to overlie the surface of the jamb and the hinge receiving edge of the door, means for clamping the door and jamb in spaced relation beneath said template carrier in predetermined relation with respect to said template, and'a supporting unit for preventing chipping of the door and jamb during the routing operation comprising fixed means and movable meansdisposed between the door and jamb and in engagement therewith along the sides of the areas thereof which receive the hinge seats. 1 t 5. Woodworking apparatus according to claim 4 wherein said fixed means in said supporting unit comprises a pair of spaced plates engaging the door at locations adjacent the ends of the door hinge seat, and said movable means is carried by said plates in compressible springbiased relation thereto.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Lewis eis, 1937 

